Total Event Production was contracted by an international company with local headquarters to provide video production services for their 75th anniversary celebration. This was originally planned to take place in the atrium area and the parking lot and webcast to all of their satellite offices across the country.

The client had multiple goals and objectives for Total's services:

• On the afternoon of the anniversary to capture all the excitement and energy that had built up among the employees surrounding the event as effectively as possible.
• To document the CEO's live speech.
• To document the unveiling of the company's new manifesto on a 25' x 50' canvas that was to be stretched out in the parking lot.  Each employee was given a sharpie in order to sign their names and their commitment to this revitalization.
• Allow for maximum coverage for the I-Mag screen and plasmas dispersed around the facility so each attendee had a clear view of the program.
• Ensure that the thousands of employees across the country viewing the program via the web were able to have a real time experience.

The design and execution for the event consisted of:

• A five camera location fly pack system with our switched feed distributed to 2 PCs dedicated to the webcast, 10-42" plasmas and a 5K DLP projector firing on a 12' x 16' scrim for the live audience.
• A 20' camera crane located on a catwalk overhead inside, a 42' camera crane in the parking lot and a lock off POV overhead camera also in the parking lot, mounted on a 50' scissor lift. This camera was part of our live switched feed as well as an 8 hour time lapse rolling at one frame every 15 seconds.
• Our other two cameras were on a dolly and handheld in the main atrium area. We set up a master control in a conference room approximately 50 feet from the stage. This arrangement gave us maximum coverage while being minimally invasive.

The difficulty of the event was relatively high prior to the event for several reasons:

• The architecture of the building, location and size of the audience made camera placement very tricky to cover the event properly and not be a distraction or obstructs anyone's view.
• We had to balance between outside ambient light at 56K and 32K tungsten fresnel's for talent front and fill light.
• Establishing and maintaining a clean audio mix between the talent mic and ambient mics inside and outside.
• The level of importance and secrecy surrounding the content and protocol of the event.

This was a very critical turning point for the company that would have impact on the success and solvency of the company moving  forward.  Every employee on site and off had to become vested and fully believe in this new direction and the possibilities it would offer. They had made it through 75 years to get here. Mistakes or technical problems of any kind on that day were not an option.         

The difficulty on the day of the show became significantly higher because inclement weather prevented the outside portion of the event from happening. The outside crane and cameras were completely built, wired and online. Three hours before the event was scheduled to start management decided they could not take a chance on a rainout.  The decision was made to clear out all the tables and chairs in the cafeteria which was approximately 100 feet from the atrium. The manifesto banner would be laid out in this area for the employee interaction portion of the event.

 As a result of the inclement weather, Total's challenge became:

• Tear down all outside cameras and dismantle the 42' jib in the parking lot.
• Rollup and relocate all the camera triax cables (approximately 1500') all flown overhead and reroute them also overhead to the cafeteria.
• Relocate and rebuild the outside jib at 33' in the cafeteria.
• Relocate and remount the lock off POV / time lapse camera to the ceiling grid in the cafeteria.
• Mobilize the 20' overhead crane on the atrium catwalk in order for it to be able to roll over to capture footage in the cafeteria.
• Have this repatched, tested and completely show ready in 2 ½ hours with our existing 8 person crew.

We overcame the challenge and obstacles in which we were faced by having the right team on-site and being extremely efficient, focused and prepared.